The Denver Nuggets (44-26) visit the Portland Trail Blazers (31-39) on Friday in a matchup with playoff implications for both teams ( 10 p.m. ET, League Pass ). Denver sits third in the West after falling to the Lakers on Wednesday, while Portland has won three straight, closing the gap to just two games behind Phoenix for the No. 10 seed.

The Blazers (31-39) took advantage of Memphis playing without Ja Morant, winning 115-99. The victory moved the Blazers to within two games of Dallas (33-37) and Phoenix (33-37), tied for 10th in the Western Conference. Phoenix hosts Cleveland (56-13) on Friday and Dallas hosts Detroit (39-31).

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Deni Avdija had 36 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 128-109 win over the Denver Nuggets, who were without star center Nikola Jokic for the third straight game.